Page 39 - MetalForming-Feb-2018-issue

Automatic Door Offers Safe Isolation of Hazardous Ops
The Gortite VF (vertical-fabric) door from Dynatect Man- ufacturing, Inc. was designed to safely isolate hazardous operations from other industrial processes, material, equipment and people, while still allowing access. The vinyl roll-up door is installed in con- junction with existing machine-guard panels on each side of the door to further enhance the sep- aration of environments. Typical applications include automated pro- duction and machine processes that require pre- ventive measures, such as robotic-welding, process- ing and transport tasks. The door can help increase the safety of industrial facilities by containing common process-generated hazards such as light debris, fluid splatter/mist, weld smoke, sparks and
intense flash.
To avoid accidents during daily operations, the door is
equipped with a traveling photo-eye sensor that brings the door to a full stop in a matter of seconds. An optional window allows for safe supervision of isolated processes. The red or bronze OSHA-compliant UV window is suitable for welding applications.
Dynatect Manufacturing, Inc.: www.dynatect.com
Collaborative Robot Takes on Gas-Metal-Arc Welding
The new SnapWeld collaborative-robot (cobot) welding package, developed by Arc Specialties Inc. and Universal Robots, is a cobot-assisted, interactive welding system that can be deployed easily and flexibly in existing manual-weld- ing booths, eliminating the need for new robotic cells.
“We are getting a lot of requests for integrating Universal Robots in welding booths, so we saw this as a unique oppor- tunity to develop an integrated low-cost system for gas- metal-arc-welding applications that no one else in the market is currently offering,” says John Martin, vice president of Arc Specialties.
SnapWeld debuted at FABTECH to high interest, with attendees able to grab a Universal Robots UR10 robot arm and perform stitch welding by teaching the robot start and stop points, as well as the number and length of the stitch weld. The SnapWeld system moves along the start and stop path and welds only during specified stitch areas, reducing robotic programming from hours to minutes.
The welding system integrated with the UR robot is com-
prised of a Profax wire feeder and water-cooled torch enabling welds to 600 amps, with torch bracket, all cables and hose packages included. The simplified programming is enabled by direct software integration into Universal Robots’ own programming environment through the Universal Robots+ platform, which allows users to program advanced settings directly on the teach pendant that comes with the robot. Settings include features such as wire-feed speed and burn- back time, gas-flow time, and crater-fill time with instant feedback on welding volts and amps.
Universal Robots: www.universal-robots.com
CNC Plasma-Cutting Machine
Park Industries debuted its Kano HD CNC plasma-cutting machine, promising bidirectional positional accuracy within ±0.004 in. and repeatability within ±0.001 in. The powerful drive system delivers repositioning at 160-mG acceleration
and 1800-in./min. rapid-traverse speed. The 600-in./min. Z-axis lifter speed optimizes productivity using Hypertherm’s Rapid Part Technology.
The Kano HD unitized machine base and gantry beam are heavy steel weldments configured with a Hypertherm Edge Connect CNC and a Hypertherm HPRXD or XPR300 high-definition plasma system for production cutting to 2 in. thick. Also included: Park’s TracKlean self-cleaning downdraft air table, with load capacity to 7400 lb.
Park Industries: www.parkindustries.com
Fabrication: FABTECH
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/February 2018 37